Three held for murder in death of Tri City man

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Three Myrtle Creek men are in custody in the Douglas County Jail on suspicion of murdering a man who was found dead Oct. 20 in his Tri City home.

William Christopher Aguayo, 21, and Jarrad M. Ramsey, 21, were arrested Friday and booked on suspicion of murder, first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary and conspiracy to commit a Class A felony.

The third suspect, Buford Thomas Harper, 27, was booked into jail early Monday on a probation violation. He was additionally held Friday on suspicion of murder, first-degree burglary and conspiracy to commit robbery. The probation violation was unrelated to the murder investigation, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.

William Joe Bruton, 57, was found dead in his home in the 100 block of Ulam Lane. The sheriff’s office has not released information about the circumstances of Bruton’s death.

The sheriff’s office announced the arrests Friday, but did not release any other information.

The three men were being held without bail, according to jail records. Ramsey was listed as 28 years old in a sheriff’s office press release, but jail records indicate he is 21 years old.

Harper was involved in a high-profile 2003 robbery in which a Tri City man was beaten in his home with a baseball bat.

Six males from Myrtle Creek, including Harper, then 16, were convicted in the attack. The assailants stole three marijuana plants from the victim, who was a medical marijuana cardholder.

Harper was sentenced to 70 months in prison.

Bruton’s death was the second of four homicides that occurred in Douglas County in a four-day period in October.

Shawn Michael Christian, 37, of Reedsport was stabbed to death outside an apartment building in Reedsport on Oct. 19. Michael Lee Corrie, 34, of Reedsport was contacted by police at the scene and arrested on suspicion of murder.

Corrie and Christian had been in an ongoing dispute, according to a sheriff’s office report. Corrie had fathered a child with a woman who was Christian’s current girlfriend, according to the report.

Brittney Langford, 24, and her father Michael Tellone, 47, were shot to death Oct. 22 outside a trailer in Winchester. Langford’s husband, Chris Langford, 26, was wounded. Investigators said they searched the area for a gunman, but said they believed he left the area. No arrests have been made.